The first day of April means something different to baseball fans than to most ordinary people. To them, it’s a day to joke, laugh, and pull pranks. To us, well, we have baseball on our minds by now. So after I make my bold baseball predictions, there will be no one shouting “April Fool” — unless I turn out to be wrong in October.

So this baseball preview is a day late (or two, or six), but there are still more than 2,400 games to be played. And in this new era — the parity era — I count 16 out of 30 teams that have a legitimate shot at a playoff run. That should make for some pretty good baseball.

Though perhaps a bit overrated, the American League still has the superior teams (for now). Boston won its second World Series in four years in ‘07, and with a healthy chunk of the Red Sox roster returning, there’s no reason they shouldn’t come out on top in the AL East. The Yankees have finally gone to a youth movement, and though many of their icons are aging rapidly, they still have A-Rod and Jeter, so they’re for second place. Don’t count out the Blue Jays or Rays either.

Many picked the Tigers to leapfrog the Indians in the AL Central this winter, after Detroit acquired Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, and Dontrelle Willis. But as good as Detroit’s lineup should be, pitching wins championships, and Cleveland has more of it than the Tigers. Fausto Carmona is a popular pick to catch the injury bug this year, but if he doesn’t catch Mark Prior syndrome, he and C.C. Sabathia make up the best front two starters in baseball. Sorry White Sox fans, no one else in the division has a chance this year.

The Angels were my pick to win the AL West until their top two starters went down to injury. Instead, I’ll take Seattle, which also boasts a powerful one-two punch in Felix Hernandez and newly acquired Eric Bedard. The Mariners' lineup is pretty weak (save for Ichiro), but their pitching, again, wins the division for them.

With no clear frontrunner in the NL East, the race in this division may prove to be even better than the one out West. Johan Santana is pretty good, but not superhuman enough to put the Mets over the Phillies or Braves. The Mets really have only three decent position players — Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran — and their pitching is thin behind Santana and John Maine. The Phillies have the best infield in baseball — with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard — and since their pitching is on par with that of Atlanta’s overrated group, I’ll take the Phillies first in the East for the second year in a row.

Anyone who thinks someone besides the Cubs or the Brewers has a shot in the NL Central simply doesn’t know much about baseball. Sure, I’m a Cubs fan, but I’ll take them over the Brew Crew because of their depth — in the rotation, the bullpen, and the lineup. (Nor do I think the Cubs need Brian Roberts, since they would lose their depth to trade for him.) The Brewers can flat out hit (Prince Fielder, anyone?), but their pitching is too iffy to make the playoffs. Sorry Cardinals fans, no one else in this division has a chance either.

If I can pick the winner of the NL West, I’ll have made my money’s worth this year. Four teams — the Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Rockies — have a shot at winning the division, and none stands out. Ultimately, I’ll take the D’Backs (despite last year’s run differential) for their balance. The Rockies can hit better, the Padres can pitch a bit better, and the Dodgers have more veterans, but Arizona has enough young talent to get back to the NLCS again, at least.

So what happens in October? An Indians-Red Sox rematch seems possible, if not likely, in the ALCS, getting there over the Mariners and and Tigers, respectively. These two teams are the class of the American League, in my opinion, so getting there shouldn’t be much of a problem. I like the Indians in this one, as they would be hungry to avenge last year’s playoff loss. Plus, C.C. and Carmona are killers in a short series.

On the other side, I like the Cubs and D’Backs in the NLCS over the Phillies and Braves, respectively. Arizona had no trouble with the Cubs in last year’s NLDS, so the Cubs will be hungry to avenge that, and I think they have timely enough hitting and good enough pitching to make it to the Fall Classic.

Ah, but as much as I like the Cubs, I can’t pick them in the World Series for sentimental reasons. Cleveland simply has more productive hitting and better front-end pitching than the Cubs do. Everything would have to be perfect for the Cubs to make it any farther, so I’ll take Cleveland in five games.

Choosing MVPs, Cy Youngs, and Rookies of the Year is an arduous task, but this blog wouldn’t be complete without them. So A-Rod and Fielder are my MVPs, Sabathia and Carlos Zambrano are my Cy Young winners, and Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto are my Rookies of the Year.

So it looks like this season will be pretty boring and quiet … April Fool!